Industrial design filing is a type of intellectual property protection to preserve a product’s distinct look. It focuses on safeguarding an article’s aesthetic qualities, like pattern, style, decoration, or any combination of two or more.
An industrial design is strikingly different from a patent, which tries to safeguard a functional advancement. If you think your invention qualifies for patent protection and the improvement for which you seek protection is based on enhanced functionality rather than a novel aesthetic, you should consider submitting a patent application. Similarly, industrial designs do not protect intangible items.
PATHtoIP® offers you a variety of options to match your needs, such as a project cost or a piece of find information based on a certain requirement.
Advantages of Design Filing
The only person who may sell, assign, or grant a licence to a design is the creator. You have the right to sue if someone else copies your work; the piece of work could be considered as likely infringement evidence in a case of infringement.
An industrial design filing may be a useful commercial asset for business owners. The appearance of a stylish product can frequently be equally or more significant than its functioning among an aesthetic-driven consumer base.
Obtaining exclusive rights to a product with a certain look can result in a significant return on investment since it allows you to prohibit others from copying a popular design. Exclusive rights imply that only you can manufacture your goods and that you may establish your price without fear of competition.
If a competitor infringes on your industrial design by utilising a design that is not significantly different from yours, you have the right to file a lawsuit and win compensation for the revenue you lost due to the violation of your design registration. It allows you to concentrate on developing products based on excellent industrial design without worrying about knockoffs from rivals who can create items cheaper or scale their manufacturing faster.
A registered industrial design can also be sold or licenced to others. If you do not want or are unable to build the product covered by your industrial design, you may sell or licence your design to someone else and receive a royalty on it.
Furthermore, the exclusivity in the market provided by your industrial design filing can assist you in establishing goodwill in the trademark sense in a specific shape and look of the object as its get-up up in trademark law. A good reputation in developing a product becomes a distinct premise for preventing others from replicating your concept.
What Documents Are Necessary for Industrial Design Filing?
Every patent application must include the following information, which must be submitted to the Indian Patent Office:
- The entire name, address, country, and invention name
- An affidavit
- A power of attorney
- Any prioritisation documents
- The type and subtype of products for which the patent is being sought
- The filing fee
If the priority document is not supplied at the time of application, the applicant may submit it with a one-to-three-month extension and payment of the official fee.
A certified English translation must also be submitted if the primary document is not in English. According to the design application, Indian conventional priority is non-extendable for six months. A power of attorney must be supplied concurrently with filing the design application in India.
An application for filing an industrial design must be filed in Form-1, along with the specified fees and other data as prescribed by the Rules, and must be signed by the applicant or his legal agent. In India, an approved agent can only be designated by a legal practitioner or a registered patent agent.
The registration application should include an appropriate class of article designs. In cases when the design for an article includes several utilities, the application may include a description of the article in one or more of the utilities.
The date and serial number are assigned when the appropriate office receives the application. If registration is authorised, the assigned serial number becomes a registered number. Furthermore, if the representation sheet included with the application does not follow the established requirements, the application will be rejected.
Our skilled team at PATHtoIP® tries to satisfy all industrial design filing criteria.
Examination of the Filed Application
The application is forwarded to an Examiner of Designs for evaluation to determine if the papers forming part of the application fulfil the fundamental criteria and whether the design applied to an article can be registered per the rules of law. The examination report is obtained 5-6 months after applying.
The Controller shall allow registration upon acceptance of the Examiner’s report on registrability of a design, and the registration certificate shall be provided and given to the applicant as soon as possible.
Registration and Publishing
Once authorised, the registration must get published in the Patent Office Journal within one month. In the event of an ordinary application, the registration date is the date of application; in the case of a reciprocity application, The registration date is the date an application is filed in the Convention Country.
Registration Certificate
The Controller shall give a certificate of registration to the design applicant if the registration is authorised. The certificate is delivered via registered mail to the service address. Furthermore, personal delivery of the registration certificate is not permitted.
Why choose PATHtoIP® For Industrial Design Filing?
Products and services are duplicated in today’s competitive industry. As a result, registering a trademark for your brand name is critical to protecting your concept and creation.
PATHtoIP® guarantees that they cover all conceivable factors that might put you into conflict with someone’s right.
PATHtoIP® ensures that our services are built in response to your requests and a full examination of the expert, offering justifications and credentials for your proposal. You may rely on our visionaries and specialists, who provide a wide range of services to assist you in turning your concept into an actual asset.
PATHtoIP® makes it simple to complete the entire industrial design application and registration procedure.
We are a well-established legal firm that delivers great intellectual property services through a competent team of Intellectual Property consultants that work with various organisations and inventors.